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This event was the seizure of the Manchurian city of Mukden by Japanese troops. The seizure was followed by the invasion of all of Manchuria. This incident contributed to the international isolation of Japan.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Mukden-Incident -
Italy had tried multiple times to conquer Ethiopia. Due to a border squarish, the Italians finally had a reason to invade. The invading forces easily pushed back the ill-prepared Ethiopians and won a major victory on April 9, 1936. They took the capital on May 5, 1936.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Italo-Ethiopian-War-1935-1936 -
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign a treaty of cooperation on October 25, and later on November 1, the Rome-Berlin Axis was announced.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rome-Berlin-Axis -
An incident between Chinese and Japanese troops outside Beiping. The Japenese noticed a soldier was missing after some fire between them and the Chinese and assumed they had taken the soldier. Both sides continued to go against one another until the Japanese mounted a full assault on them.
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/marco-polo-bridge-incident -
Czechoslovakia was forced to surrender its border regions and defense after Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France signed the Munich Agreement.
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Germany was handed Sudetenland due to the Munich agreement. This gave them access to lots of Czechoslovakia's resources. The Czech president agreed to give passage to German troops into Czech borders. In that same day, German troops poured into Bohemia and Moravia.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nazis-take-czechoslovakia -
United Kingdom and France pledged themselves to assure Polish independence. The agreement promised mutual military assistance between the nations if needed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Polish_military_alliance -
Shocking the world, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggressive pact. Both signed it for different political advantages.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-hitler-stalin-pact -
Hitler's troops invaded Poland, and since Britain and France agreed to help in the case of a German invasion, they both declared war on Germany.
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140,000 Polish troops are taken prisoner by German forces as Warshaw surrendered to Germany. They fought for 26 days before surrendering.
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The Soviet Union began to wage a war against Finland at the beginning of World War II. This did not end until March 12, 1940.
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President Franklin Roosevelt is elected for a third term, going against the traditional two-term limit.
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German warships entered most of the major Norwegian ports, deploying thousands of troops and taking Norway. While all that was happening, German forces overtook Copenhagen and other Danish cities.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-norway-and-denmark -
Benito Mussolini finally declared war on Great Britain and France after withholding formal allegiance to either side of the war.
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German forces rolled into Paris and installed a curfew. Two million Parisians fled and the Gestapo went to work to detain them. Canada came to France's rescue.
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General Charles de Gaulle was discovered as the leader of the Free French. They were a group set up in England dedicated to the defeat of the Germany and the liberation of the French.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/britain-recognizes-general-charles-de-gaulle-as-the-leader-of-the-free-french -
Vichy France signed the pact, allowing Japan to station troops in French Indochina and to use airfields, ports, and railroads.
https://www.sarahsundin.com/today-in-world-war-ii-history-aug-30-1940-1945/ -
The Axis powers were formed when Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies after signing the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. The pact provided mutual assistance should any of them suffer attack by any nation not already in the war. It was aimed at the United States, to make them think twice about joining the Allies. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-tripartite-pact-is-signed-by-germany-italy-and-japan
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300,000 people took part in in a general strike against German authorities. The strike began to spread to neighboring places, taking the Germans by surprise.
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The Senate decided to create a special investigative committee to get rid of waste, corruption and profiteering in the U.S defense industry.
https://www.politico.com/story/2008/03/truman-committee-formed-march-1-1941-008770 -
Italian and German invaders of Yugoslavia set up the Independent State of Croatia. They placed Ante Pavelic in control of the puppet axis regime.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/croatia-declares-independence -
The day before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
https://seanmunger.com/2015/12/06/the-day-before-infamy-december-6-1941/ -
President Franklin Roosevelt's request for war against Japan is accepted. U.S declares war on Japan.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-united-states-declares-war-on-japan -
America is brought into European conflict as Adolf Hitler declares war on the United States.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-declares-war-on-the-united-states -
The German city was bombed 262 times, all on separate occasions. 34,711 bombs were dropped on Cologne and 20,000 people died.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Cologne_in_World_War_II -
German troops attack the Soviet Union in Stalingrad on the Volga River and the Caucasus.
https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1942-1945/german-forces-launch-offensive-against-the-soviet-union -
The British launched an attack on El Alamein. The British had the advantage, forcing Germany to retreat to Tunisia.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-el-alamein -
General Georgi Zhukov leads the Soviet Army into Operation Uranus, the great counteroffensive that turned the tide in the Battle of Stalingrad.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviet-counterattack-at-stalingrad -
The battle of Kursk was Hitler's response to his defeat to the Soviets at Stalingrad. It was Germany's last chance to regain dominance on the Eastern Front.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-kursk -
Britain and United States land on Sicily, off mainland Italy, and easily overcome the demoralized troops. In three days, 150,000 Allied troops were ashore.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-land-on-sicily -
Mussolini's own Grand Council votes him out of power and is arrested.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mussolini-falls-from-power -
The Allies landed on mainland Italy during the early stages of the Italian Campaign of World War II. This followed the successful invasion of Sicily.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_invasion_of_Italy -
The battle stemmed from the Allies attempt to get German troops off the Gustav Line. U.S and German troops were at a stalemate for four months.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-anzio -
The Allied Troops entered Rome and freed it from German control. Although Italy had surrendered, Germany still fought for control of the Italian mainland.
https://www.mysticstamp.com/info/this-day-in-history-june-4-1944/ -
This bill was a hopeful way to reintegrate into society after the conclusion of World War II.
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/anecdote/days/025week_0622.htm -
This was the offensive attack by the United States, weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign. The attacks intention was to take advantage of the Germans while they were distracted by the British.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cobra -
The Poles tried to seize control of the city and oust German troops before the city became occupied by the Soviet army. The uprising's failure allowed the pro-Soviet administration to gain control of Poland.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Warsaw-Uprising -
French and U.S divisions liberated Paris from Germany's control. The resistance was light and German commander Choltitz signed a formal surrender.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/paris-liberated -
The king removed the government of Ion Antonescu after the Axis front in Northeastern Romania collapsed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Michael's_Coup -
By end of August all of Northern France has been liberated and later that spring the Allies had defeated Germany. The Allies landing at Normandy was called the beginning of the end of the war.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
General MacArthur returns to the shores of the Philippine island of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to return to the area where he was forced to flee from.
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Germany launches Operation Mist, the last major German offense of the war. It was an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-bulge -
Hitler commits suicide in his refurbished air-raid shelter. He consumes a cyanide pill then shoots himself in the head. His "1,000 year" Reich collapses above him.
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A day celebrated as the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II by Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on May 8, 1945.
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This battle resulted in the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine. The Bridge was rigged to explode by the Germans but only a portion of the explosives detonated, allowing the Allies to take the bridge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Remagen -
The Soviet army surrounded and attacked Berlin from east and south. A third front attacked German troops from the North. Over the course of a week, the Soviet army took control of the city.
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General Alfred Jodi signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces, east and west, at Reims, in northeastern France.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-surrenders-unconditionally-to-the-allies-at-reims -
An American B-29 bomber dropped the worlds first atomic deployed bomb over Hiroshima. The explosion took out 90% of the city. Three days later, another atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Japan's emperor announced his unconditional surrender.
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Truman signs the United Nations Charter and becomes the first state to complete the ratification process and join the new international organization.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-signs-united-nations-charter -
Japan formally surrenders to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. This surrender brought World War II to an end.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-surrenders